Mazda 6 Owners

Gryzor · 09-04-2008 7:47pm #1

looking at getting a 2004/5 mazda 6, 1.8 petrol....any opinions from owners or others??

bazz26 · 09-04-2008 9:16pm

I almost bought one sometime back. Try and find a Sport Touring model, it comes stacked with all the toys such as climate control, sunroof, cruise control, alloy wheels, sports suspension and velour seats.

They are generally reliable and very nice to drive.

BnA · 09-04-2008 9:38pm

I imported a 04 from the UK when 2 years ago for my Father in Law. He loves it. Fine comfortable car to drive. Hasn't given any trouble in the 2 years he's had it.

I notice you're in Limerick. Because my father in laws car was still under manufacturers warrenty when we bought it, I took it to a main dealer to service it. I have taken it to Mike O Dwyers now 3 times for 3 services and I couldn't reccomend them highly enough. I don't know what their sales staff are like, but their service staff are very good.

pburns · 09-04-2008 10:05pm

I have one and would wholly recommend. Much abused and has given zero problems in 3 years driving.

The facelifted car from 05 onwards has improved interior and apparantly goes some way towards fixing the 6's only serious problem - road/engine noise.

Gryzor · 09-04-2008 11:26pm

BnA wrote: »

I imported a 04 from the UK when 2 years ago for my Father in Law.

yeah, i rekon i'll go the UK route aswell....better spec and lower milage for less cash from what i've seen....

pburns wrote: »

the 6's only serious problem - road/engine noise.

hmmm....not sure i like the sound of that....is it that bad???

Phaetonman · 26-05-2008 12:03pm

My uncle had a diesel one and it wasn't great. Slow and boring were his words. He swapped it for a TDi Passat and hasn't looked back, just a class above in terms of refinement and quality.

Biro · 26-05-2008 12:10pm

Gryzor wrote: »

looking at getting a 2004/5 mazda 6, 1.8 petrol....any opinions from owners or others??

1.8 petrol nothing special, but it's reliable. Can be picked up for very reasonable money now. The 6 is one of the best handling cars in it's class.

Zube · 26-05-2008 12:40pm

Phaetonman wrote: »

Slow and boring were his words. He swapped it for a TDi Passat and hasn't looked back

Slower and more boring than a diesel Passat? I thought you'd have to buy an Avensis for that...

E92 · 26-05-2008 12:59pm

Avensis might be boring but it's a very good car apart from the lack of driver involvement. And much more reliable than a Passat can ever dream of being too.

No direct experience of the Mazda, but I've never heard a bad word said against it bar it being noisy at speed. And also super reliable too.

Phaetonman · 26-05-2008 1:02pm

Avensis' are very dangerous cars and should be banned. I had a rental once and I was very close to falling asleep at the wheel.

Ferris · 26-05-2008 1:05pm

My old boss had one and the engine blew on it, big-end bearing went and it put a con-rod out through the block. (He was a w*nker

!)

Don't know if this was an isolated case - my impression of the Mazda 6 was that its a good car, a lot of people are happy with them. There's loads for sale so haggle hard an you'd get some good value.

BillyGoatGruff · 26-05-2008 1:29pm

I have driven the diesel mazda 6 a few times and thought that the power from it was very good. Did find the suspension a bit loose though. Had the car scraping off the ground a lot with 4 people in it on a country road.

bazz26 · 26-05-2008 2:41pm

Phaetonman wrote: »

Avensis' are very dangerous cars and should be banned. I had a rental once and I was very close to falling asleep at the wheel.

Time to take VW fanboy sunglasses off then.

How anyone can find a Passat more interesting than an Avensis or Mazda 6 is beyond me.

E92 · 26-05-2008 2:46pm

Wasn't the B5/B5.5 Passat noted for its complete lack of driver involvement(the one Phaetonman evidently has as he was talking his 1.9 TDI Passat in another thread) too?

Phaetonman · 26-05-2008 3:00pm

bazz26 wrote: »

Time to take VW fanboy sunglasses off then.

How anyone can find a Passat more interesting than an Avensis or Mazda 6 is beyond me.

People who posess the cold, grey mechanical soul of a German.

Machines made my machines with hint of soul (like Data from Star Trek)

Consensus.
1. Passat
2. Mondeo
3. Mazda 6
4. Avensis

peasant · 26-05-2008 3:06pm

Phaetonman wrote: »

People who posess the cold, grey mechanical soul of a German.

...will tell other people to stick to the bloomin' topic ...which happens to be MAZDA.

Bitteschoen, dankeschoen

Phaetonman · 26-05-2008 3:09pm

peasant wrote: »

...will tell other people to stick to the bloomin' topic ...which happens to be MAZDA.

Bitteschoen, dankeschoen

Sorry peasent, just trying to ensure the the joy my uncle experienced is felt by the OP. It really turned his life around, he was depressed for a year with the Mazda.

Biro · 26-05-2008 3:28pm

Phaetonman wrote: »

Sorry peasent, just trying to ensure the the joy my uncle experienced is felt by the OP. It really turned his life around, he was depressed for a year with the Mazda.

Depression is a serious thing, and shouldn't be discussed in the motors forum.
@ OP - what are your requirements for a car? Obviously you want a saloon. Is driver involvement important? Economy? Power? Comfort? Interior look or feel? Space? Value for money?

vectra · 26-05-2008 3:44pm

Zube wrote: »

Slower and more boring than a diesel Passat? I thought you'd have to buy an Avensis for that...

The Avensis is so bad that the Gardai even had to get shut of them
Troublesome rubbish.
Ask 99% of the people that own them ( well, All except the other 1%..!! on here) :pac:

finbarrk · 26-05-2008 3:49pm

What is the new Mazda 6 like? They are nice to look at anyway. Any owners on here?

johndaman66 · 26-05-2008 3:53pm

Have driven a 98 model avensis and also spoken to people who own avensis and the general consensus is that the are really reliable and also economical for the size of car. Good performance and handling in my experience also. Believe that the 03 ones up are even more refined and also look very good in my opinion. Think the passats are way over-rated and believe they can be pretty troublesome in certain respects. The newer ones are also quiet tinny. This kinda crack about falling asleep at the wheel is just stupid. If your tired go to bed or something. The avensis is much less likely to leave you stranded on the side of the road than the passat which in my opinion is a much greater consideration than driver involvement which is to a certain extent subjective in any case.

Regarding Mazda 6, I know that the Mazda 626 is a great car to put up the mileage and pretty reliable along the way if minded but think the Mazda 6 is quiet expensive and considerably scarce.

E92 · 26-05-2008 3:58pm

Why do Toyota sell over 8,000 Avensis every year if they're as bad as people say they are?

We have one with over 120k km on it. Problems with it include the dealer not replacing the pollen filter when required and therefore the air conditioning wasn't as cold as normal. Another time it refused to start. That's it. Never missed a beat otherwise. I think you'll also find that bazz26 had one with over 167k miles on the clock and doubtless it gave a minimal amount of trouble either. They're dirt cheap to run and service as well too.

They're not a good car to drive, but that's about it.

If you're not into driving pleasure and want something that will work and is cheap to run, is comfortable, safe, quiet and has an upmarket feel to the interior then the Avensis is hard to beat.

vectra · 26-05-2008 4:04pm

E92 wrote: »

Why do Toyota sell over 8,000 Avensis every year if they're as bad as people say they are?

We have one with over 120k km on it. Problems with it include the dealer not replacing the pollen filter when required and therefore the air conditioning wasn't as cold as normal. Another time it refused to start. That's it. Never missed a beat otherwise. I think you'll also find that bazz26 had one with over 167k miles on the clock and doubtless it gave a minimal amount of trouble either. They're dirt cheap to run and service as well too.

They're not a good car to drive, but that's about it.

If you're not into driving pleasure and want something that will work and is cheap to run, is comfortable, safe, quiet and has an upmarket feel to the interior then the Avensis is hard to beat.

I am sure Lada sold loads of cars as well.
Are you saying they are all excellent cars as well?

I wouldnt go by the mileage too much.
I had an 87 Opel Ascona which had 237K on the clock when I sold it and it never missed a beat.
Not saying it was a great car or anything.

I also clocked up 264k on 2 Fiat Ducato vans in the early 90's.
I wouldnt say they were great in other respects either.

Cork Exile · 26-05-2008 4:34pm

I bought a 05 Mazda 6 1.8 petrol just a little under 2 months, no trouble so far, great looking car, I'm 100% happy with my purchase.
I've also driven a numer of Avensis's, my dad has been through 2 in the last 12 months(after 8 years in a Primera lol), and also a great car.
My pick of the 2 has to be the Mazda though. Its got a bit more of that sporty look to the car and is definitely more responsive, where the Avensis just drives like a tank. It's a much different drive even to older Avensis' 2000-2003.
As for Passats.....zzzzzzzz. Boring to look at and a boring drive. It is a reliable car, there is no doubt but no more so than both cars mentioned above.

At the end of the day, you're going to save money buying the Mazda and you will have a superior looking and performing car IMO. Of course there is every chance you could buy one that will cause you nothing but grief but the odds of that are definitly not greater than if buy an Avensis or a VW.

Gryzor · 27-05-2008 12:45am

completely changed me mind on the mazda lads...going for a 05 diesel accord now....

the reason i initially was thinkin of the 6 was, i've had a 1995 323F for the last 6 years, and i've never had an ounce of trouble from it....

hadn't read great reviews on the 6 deisel, so i ruled that out....the honda diesel in the accord has great mpg, with a nice bit of boot, and theres a couple of grand to be saved on the VRT if imported after july.....

bazz26 · 27-05-2008 1:04am

E92 wrote: »

Why do Toyota sell over 8,000 Avensis every year if they're as bad as people say they are?

We have one with over 120k km on it. Problems with it include the dealer not replacing the pollen filter when required and therefore the air conditioning wasn't as cold as normal. Another time it refused to start. That's it. Never missed a beat otherwise. I think you'll also find that bazz26 had one with over 167k miles on the clock and doubtless it gave a minimal amount of trouble either. They're dirt cheap to run and service as well too.

They're not a good car to drive, but that's about it.

If you're not into driving pleasure and want something that will work and is cheap to run, is comfortable, safe, quiet and has an upmarket feel to the interior then the Avensis is hard to beat.

Yep and my old man still drives it, its running grand even though it is starting to use a little more oil these days but considering the mileage that is to be expected, according to our mechanic. Only issues I had were covered under offical recalls, mainly both headlamps and a steering rack component replaced.

But nothing is bomb proof anymore even cars like the Mazda 6 has documented problem with the diesel engine. Every car has its fair share of problems but some suffer more than others.

keanebg1 · 27-05-2008 4:17pm

I had an 03' Mazda 6 1.8l petrol Touring from new & kept it till 2006 (did about 45k miles in it). It was ok & nice to drive, good steering, handling, well finished inside etc... I did have some electrical problems (both headlights died at the same time on the way home one night!). CEL engine light kept coming on (after numerious visits to the dealer it turned out to be a loose cable somewhere).

Things I did'nt like; Clutch was too stiff, 1st & 2nd gears where always stiff & clunky when the car was cold. The sun visor on the drivers side had the groove where you put in your hand on the wrong side for me - very annoying.

I did take a good look at the new Mazda 6 early this year but did'nt like the interior (seat cloth material is cheapesh) & its too expensive for what it is...

BillyGoatGruff · 28-05-2008 10:42pm

Gryzor wrote: »

completely changed me mind on the mazda lads...going for a 05 diesel accord now....

the reason i initially was thinkin of the 6 was, i've had a 1995 323F for the last 6 years, and i've never had an ounce of trouble from it....

hadn't read great reviews on the 6 deisel, so i ruled that out....the honda diesel in the accord has great mpg, with a nice bit of boot, and theres a couple of grand to be saved on the VRT if imported after july.....

A man after me own heart

Diesel Accord

Mazda 6 Owners

Comments